


5 times they didn't get engaged, and one time they most certainly did not get married

by imaginentertain



Category: Days of Our Lives
Genre: M/M
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2013-11-02
Updated: 2013-11-02
Packaged: 2017-12-31 06:35:53
Rating: Teen And Up Audiences
Warnings: Creator Chose Not To Use Archive Warnings
Chapters: 1
Words: 4,543
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/1028403
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/imaginentertain/pseuds/imaginentertain
Summary: <blockquote class="userstuff">
              <p>What the title says!</p>
            </blockquote>





	5 times they didn't get engaged, and one time they most certainly did not get married

1.

Will is pretty sure that he's staring. He's also pretty sure that his jaw has dropped open and he sends a silent prayer that he's not drooling. He doesn't want his daughter's first sighting of him to be one resembling Homer Simpson when someone mentions donuts.

Sonny has already pointed out several things.

One – he looks adorable, not idiotic. He looks like a man completely in love. Which, Sonny also points out, he is.

Two – Arianna Grace is asleep. She can't see him.

Three – even if she was awake, babies can't see more than a handful of inches in front of their faces to begin with.

Four – he's allowed to stare. That's his newborn baby girl asleep in that bassinet and if Sonny can't help but stare at her then her father has even more of an excuse.

"I have," Will says after a long pause, "absolutely no idea what I'm doing. None. I have no concept of what it means to be a good parent because I didn't have the best role models."

"So do the opposite of what they did," Sonny quips before laughing softly. He moves behind Will, his arms slipping around his waist and his chin resting on his shoulder. "You will know, you already do."

"Helping to raise my brother and sister is different—"

"I was thinking more along the lines of you just need to love her. You love her and you're there for her and like every other new parent you learn on the job."

"You really think I can do this?"

Sonny shakes his head a little before burying it a little more against the curve of Will's neck. "I know you can."

"Only because I have you for support."

"Don't sell yourself short, Will. You want to do right by her and that puts you ahead in this game. You have always wanted to do right by her—"

"Even when I was willing to pretend she wasn't mine?"

"You did that because you thought you had no other choice. Because Nick was pushing you into it."

"What if--?"

"It won't," Sonny replies. "My dad's pretty confident things will go our way."

"How can he be so sure?"

"Because he's worked around the clock on this, he's covered every angle. And with Gabi on our side—"

"He didn't have to do all that, you know. Especially the whole pro-bono thing."

"I know. He wanted to. Said... Never mind."

"Said what?"

"It doesn't matter."

"No, Son, what?"

"Fine. He said... he said that Arianna was pretty much going to be his granddaughter so there was no way he wasn't getting involved and he wasn't taking a single cent."

"Right."

"He just meant that because I'm going to be a part of her life that he and Mom would be too, and he didn't—"

"He did," Will cuts across, "and that's fine."

"Really? No overstepping?"

"Why would there be? You're going to be a parent to her as much as Gabi or I will be. So I guess she does have another set of grandparents."

"Going to make the holidays fun," Sonny laughs, settling back into his hold on Will. "I vote we don't even entertain where we go. We stay home, they can come to us."

"I like your thinking," Will laughs. "I knew you'd have a plan."

"I have several," Sonny whispers and for some reason Will can just sense that this is going somewhere. "Some of them involve tuxes and rings and—"

"Son," Will interrupts, placing his hands over the ones splayed across his stomach, "don't. It's just with everything that's happened and the next few weeks... I love you, and I can't wait until we get to take her home and everything that will come with that... Not now, OK?"

"OK," Sonny replies, his voice gentle even though Will can feel some residual tension. "I just—"

"I'm sorry, I didn't mean to—"

"It's fine, really. There's no rush. We have a lot going on right now and the rest of our lives together."

There's a moment's silence in which Will can feel Sonny's body relax completely behind him. "It's funny," he then says. "I never thought I'd be the guy who was settled down with a kid before he turned 21. In fact, I didn't want to be that guy. But as it turns out? Not a bad life at all."

"No?"

"No."

They say nothing else, content to watch Arianna Grace sleep her first sleep on this earth. 

~~~~~~~~~~

2.

Everyone talked about the joys of parenthood. Of holding your child for the first time. The first smile (that really is a smile and not just wind). First word, first steps, there's a lot of firsts on that list.

The first dash to the hospital was one that no one ever talked about.

Arianna had been unsettled all evening but they'd just put that down to it being the first length of time she'd really spent away from Gabi (a much-needed break away from the major disaster that was her break up). When she wouldn't eat concern pricked at Will's stomach and it only flared with every whimper Ari seemed to make. When she started screaming his heart had stopped and it had been Sonny (wonderful, brave, calm, collected, rational, logical, _perfect_ Sonny) who had bundled them into the car and brought them here.

Where now they wait.

"I should call Gabi," Will says.

"Wait and see what the doctor says," wonderful, perfect, brave, calm, collected, rational, logical, _perfect_ Sonny says. "If it's nothing much then there's no point worrying her just yet."

"If it were me—"

"She's a five hour flight away. What is she going to do? Worry and panic? By the time she's got herself a flight back we'll know what's going on and for all we know by the time she gets back we could all be at home. We'll call her when we have news to tell her other than her daughter's in hospital."

"You're right. You are, you're right."

"I tend to be," Sonny laughs. "And she's going to be fine."

"What if she's not?"

"Don't think like that."

"No, but what if she's not? What if there's something really wrong?"

"If there is, and that's a very big if, then we will deal with it. Together. As a family."

"Family," Will repeats, his fingers sliding across Sonny's palm before finding their familiar homes between Sonny's own fingers. "And she's a part of that. A really, really big part which is funny because she's the smallest person in it. I can fit her in my arms. In one arm. She's so small she's fits right in there and I feel like sometimes I'm the only thing between her and the world and I will do anything, _anything_ to keep her safe. I've been practising what I'll say to any guy who even looks at her twice. Or girl," he adds with a soft laugh. "The second I saw her, for real, that day in here? I swore to myself that I wasn't going to let anything hurt her."

"And you won't."

"She's in pain, she's suffering and I can't stop that," Will says, his voice shaking. "I should be in there with her—"

"You needed a moment and she's in good hands."

"She should be in _my_ hands."

"She will be," Sonny soothes. "You up to going back in? Think you can do this?"

Will takes a deep breath and gets to his feet, never letting go of Sonny's hand. "As long as you're here with me."

"I am always going to be here," Sonny replies, getting to his own feet and pulling Will in close. "For both of you. And while you're holding her I will be standing between the both of you and the world because I promised myself a very long time ago that I wasn't going to let anything hurt _you_."

"Yeah?" Will grins.

"Yeah," Sonny smiles.

"I know that smile," Will says, "there's more to this."

"Doesn't matter."

"If it's going to distract me or make me feel better then you have an obligation to tell me."

"Oh, do I now?"

"Yes. Please."

"OK," Sonny says, giving his hand a gentle squeeze. "I also promised myself that one day, the three of us? Might be a _proper_ family."

"We are," Will says in confusion.

"No, I mean... a proper family."

There's a moment before Will catches up, and he ducks his head a little.

"But now's not the time for that," Sonny continues. "Right now our little girl needs us. So... coming?"

Will follows Sonny back into the room, still joined, always, forever, at the hand.

~~~~~~~~~~

3.

It's rather simple in the end. Walk in, state they agree to the agreement, few stamps and that's that. Well, there might be a little more to it than that but that's what it feels like. One minute Will is walking into the room, the next he's being herded out with talk of _celebrating_ and _parties_ and _so many plans_.

It's there, in black and white. Signed, sealed, stamped and formal.

Shared custody.

Days and dates are fixed but with agreed flexibility. A formal agreement with informal touches. Ari is _theirs_. Gabi, Will and Sonny. A child with three parents (the divorce had been finalised the week before, life was good right now) who was going to know nothing but love.

"No second thoughts?" Gabi asks as she moves next to Will, linking arms with him.

"About her? Not a single one."

"I never got a chance to thank you."

"Thank me?" Will asks. "You're the one who gave me her. Who's letting me be a part of her life."

"You always were going to be, at least as far as I was concerned. And I'm sorry that Nick ever made you feel... I'm just sorry."

"It's over now," Will says, leaning over a little to give her a gentle shove. "We have a future to look forward to. Her future."

"It's all about her," Gabi agrees. "Sonny seems like a natural."

"Yeah, he does," Will smiles as they watch Sonny effortlessly carry a plate of food in one hand while cradling Ari in the other arm. "Grandma Marlena said that it was normal to feel separation anxiety at first. It's a thing for new parents, apparently, being unable to leave your child with anyone."

"Sonny's not just anyone though."

"She is the most precious thing in my life and I don't even think twice about leaving her with him. He's just as much a..." Will trails off and shrugs. "I don't know."

"Just as much a what?" Gabi asks.

"It doesn't matter."

She stops and looks from him to Sonny, then she smiles. "Ask me, I think Arianna Grace is the luckiest girl in the world. Most of us only get one dad who will go to the ends of the earth to defend us. She's got two."

"I didn't—"

"Yes, you did, and you're right. He is just as much a dad to her as you are. And I think the two of you are going to be fantastic."

"Thank you," Will whispers.

"You sure about having her tonight?"

"I'd have her every night," Will laughs.

"Well, you know where I am if you want some... time," she says cryptically.

"What?"

"Sorry, forget I said anything."

"OK, so now I can't. Tell me."

"I promised I wouldn't."

"Promised who?"

"...Sonny."

"You promised Sonny you wouldn't tell me something?" Will asks. "I don't... What is going on?"

"I can't!"

"Gabi!"

"He wants it to be a surprise."

"He... Sonny? Gabi, what are you talking about?"

"I..." She sighs and turns so she's got her back to Sonny. "Swear you'll never say I told you?"

"I swear," Will agrees, still confused.

"I may have... overheard him. Sonny. Talking to your dad. About you."

"They get on, they talk. I don't—"

"He wants to marry you," Gabi says quietly, her voice low and conspiratorial. "And I think he's going to ask tonight."

She doesn't get to say anything more because Sonny comes over, returns a very happy girl to her mom, and the rest of the night passes in a blur.

~~

It takes five rounds of _Rock-a-bye-baby_ before Ari finally settles enough for Sonny to feel like he can leave Will alone to get a fresh bottle. When he returns he can't help but smile at Will sat in the rocking chair, Ari in his arms. She has finally settled to sleep, as has Will. 

~~~~~~~~~~

4.

"Hey. It's me. Again. Look, please... Please just... come home? I don't want to say this into your voicemail. I want to tell you. Explain. Please, Son. Just... come home. I love you. I really, really love you and... Please?"

~~

Will came home to the smell of dinner, a laid table, and a very self-satisfied boyfriend.

"What's this?"

"Dinner," Sonny replies, rocking a little on his heels.

"Yeah, but... why?"

"Because it's traditional to have a meal in the evening, sometimes with those you are closest to, maybe even love?"

"This is a lot of trouble for a... traditional meal," Will laughs.

"I had the afternoon off, Mom's been raving about this new recipe she found, figured I'd give it a go."

"And that's it?"

"For now," Sonny grins. "You got ten minutes to make yourself decent."

"Yes sir," Will laughs, dropping his bag by the couch. He gives Sonny a quick kiss before disappearing into their bedroom.

Sonny takes a deep breath, smiles to himself, and pushes his fingers into the pocket of his jeans, feeling the smooth metal still safe.

~~

After finishing the last mouthful Will placed his fork on the plate and sat back in his chair. "Well that was fantastic. Just one problem though."

"Yeah?"

"Yeah, it was full of mushrooms."

"So?"

"So your mom hates mushrooms. Calls them 'mini fungus'. So no way was that her recipe."

"OK, so maybe I just wanted to cook for you."

"Or maybe you had another motive?" Will asks. "What is it this time? Is it Alex? Does he want you to head off on some mad road trip?"

"What? No. No, it's nothing to do with Alex," Sonny says, smiling and shaking his head.

"Did my dad say something to you? Or mom? Oh god, it was mom wasn't it? She said something. She said something and this is... what? Compensating for something?"

"Will, Will, no. No one has said anything to me, there is nothing wrong, I promise."

"So this really is just dinner?"

"...Not exactly," Sonny says carefully. "It's just right now I feel like things are settled. We have this place, Ari has a routine and she is happy and settled."

"Thanks to you," Will adds. "She adores you, you know?"

"Feeling is very much mutual," Sonny grins. "It's funny. If you went back five years and asked me how I thought my life would be now, asked me to draw up a wish list? Being a... somewhat father wouldn't have even made my top ten, top twenty. But I wouldn't change a single thing about my life, about our lives. I love you, I love her... Things are good."

"Things are better than good," Will corrects, "things are great."

"Well, not yet, but I'm hoping they will be soon."

"Oh?"

"Yeah." Sonny reaches behind him to take the plate from the counter. He puts it in the middle of the table, two mini cheesecakes artfully presented in the middle.

But it's not that Will is looking at. It's the ring embedded in one and a question mark drawn on the other in coulis.

"Son—"

"I can't believe how long it's taken me to get around to doing this, but they do say better late than never. And I know anything would be somewhat symbolic at the moment, but who knows what's going to happen? Mom swears you can't plan a proper wedding in anything under six months and maybe then we could do it for real, but even if it's not legal it'll feel real to us and that's what matters, right?"

"Son—"

"Yes, right, sorry, I'm rambling and you always do this to me!" he laughs. "I love you, you know that?"

"I love you too, but—"

"I want to spend the rest of my life with you. And Ari, of course, I want to be there for her when her babbling turns into actual words although I may not be the best role model because I seem to be doing it again. Right, focus Sonny. Will Horton. Will you—"

"No," Will interrupts and it's like something actually breaks in the air between them. "I mean... Son, I can't."

"Why not?" he asks quietly. "I thought you... we..."

"It's not that, I swear. I love you and I want to be with you."

"But you don't want to marry me?"

"No, Son, I don't."

"I..." Sonny stops and pushes back his chair, getting to his feet. "I'm gonna go... for a walk."

"Sonny, please. Will you talk to me about it?" Will calls after him but Sonny goes anyway.

~~~~~~~~~~

5.

The sound of the key in the lock at two in the morning causes Will to sit bolt upright on the couch and stare at the door as it opens slowly and Sonny (wonderful, brave, calm, collected, rational, logical, _perfect_ Sonny) walks back in.

"Hi," Will says, afraid that anything else will be too much.

"Hi," Sonny replies.

"I tried calling."

"I know."

"Son—"

"I just want to know why. I thought we were... I thought things were good between us."

"They are," Will says, getting to his feet. "They are the best that they have ever been and what you did tonight for me, for us, was just the greatest thing and I ruined that, I'm sorry. It's just... I wasn't expecting it and I guess I got scared and I never wanted to hurt you, Son, that is the last thing I have ever wanted and if you'll still have me then yes."

"What?" Sonny asks in confusion.

"Yes. I'll marry you. Or should I ask you? Marry me, Sonny. Please?"

"Only if you tell me why you said no."

"I did tell you. I got scared and—"

"No, you didn't," Sonny interrupts. "I've seen you when you're scared. All that drama with Nick? When we didn't know if Gabi was going to lose the baby? That night in the hospital when she just had that sickness bug. All of those times you were scared, but tonight? You weren't. "

"Please, just say yes and we can forget about—"

"No," Sonny says firmly and Will can tell it's taking everything he has in him to do that.

"I don't wanna lose you," Will whispers. "Please. Tell me how I can make this right."

"Well not by proposing!" Sonny snaps. "Not when you don't want to marry me."

"No, it's not that I swear."

"You turned me down, Will. And you knew how I felt about this, I've been mentioning it for months now. When Ari was born—"

"I know, and I thought once things settled down I'd change my mind but they have and I haven't and—"

"—you still don't want to marry me."

"No, Son," Will begs, moving closer so he's almost within reach. "It's not that I don't want to marry you, I just... I don't want to get married. Ever."

~~

It's almost easy after that, once Will starts to talk. The whole concept of marriage is tainted for him, he doesn't understand why people feel the need to tie themselves to someone.

Sonny says that neither of them are his parents.

Will says it's not just that. Tonight, he says, Sonny was free to walk out of the door and he could have – if he'd wanted to – never come back.

Sonny says he'll always come back, but Will continues.

There's no tie, there's no official link except their love and their desire to spend the rest of their lives together. But at any moment they could just go, up and leave and that would be that. And Will says that it makes him work harder. His whole life he has screwed up one thing after another because he didn't think things through but with this? He has to.

Sonny says he's still not leaving, but he gets that's not the point.

Will always thought that the love that you felt for your child would be hands down the most powerful love it was possible to experience. But the way that he loves Sonny is just as powerful and sometimes he can't quite believe that Sonny chose him, that he gets to be with him.

Sonny says nothing now, he knows this is time for Will to talk.

He talks through the rest of the night and by the time the sun starts to peek through the curtains they understand the other a little more. 

~~~~~~~~~~

+1

A little before Ari's second birthday, the law changes. Will watches the news with Sonny, their little girl squirming between with shared excitement of all the happy people on her TV. Will doesn't look over at Sonny, after all this time he knows exactly the careful expression that will be on his partner's face.

It's the face that he makes when he comes home to find that Will and Ari have been playing pirates in the bath and now they have an indoor pool that needs mopping up. It's the face he makes when Ari climbs into their bed after a nightmare, innocently unaware of the reason why daddy doesn't have his pyjamas on. It's the face he makes when an employee sells him a slightly-less-than-believable-but-could-still-be-true last minute story about why they can't work their shift and he has to miss Ari's bedtime.

It's his "I'm pretending I'm OK with this" face and Will hates it when he knows that he could make it OK.

But he still hasn't changed his mind. Well, not about the marriage thing anyway,

~~

Sonny can't help but imagine the coffee house on fire when Chad tells him that there's an emergency and he needs to get there right away. But he gets no details and so he texts Will that he'll be late (and could they please try and wait for him because he'd really like to have dinner with them both) and he heads straight over there from his mom's, still trying to figure out why she'd insisted on seeing him today and why she was fussing over him and his hair like he was suddenly six years old.

Shaking his head he laughs a little to himself – he hated that when he was six too.

Chad is waiting for him outside the coffee house but before he can ask what is going on Chad knocks twice on the door and then Will appears. Chad slips inside, opening the door just enough that he can get in, and with the blinds down Sonny is literally blind as to what is going on.

So he asks Will. Right before he asks another question.

"And why are you in a suit?"

"First question first, that'll answer the second," Will says. "About four years ago you walked into my life and about three years ago that life was turned upside when I finally realised who I was. You helped me then in ways I can't even begin to describe and you haven't stopped since. You have just given me so much and this is my way of giving something back."

"You give me plenty," Sonny says, trying to work out what is going on.

"I wanted to talk to you out here, to tell you so that if this is not what you want, if it's not enough, then we can just go. We've got about five minutes' grace."

"For what? What is going on in there?"

"Well I'm hoping that what will go on," Will says carefully, taking a deep breath, "is... It's a promise ceremony."

"A what?"

"A promise ceremony. It's like a marriage, only not a marriage. Abi read about it, about how gay couples in other states still have to have them because they can't get married. It's pretty much purely symbolic, there's nothing official about it. But it's real to them and those they share it with. And I wanna share it with you, Son. I want to share my whole life with you and _I want to stand up in front of our family and friends and tell them that you are the one that I love above all else_."

Sonny can't help but laugh a little when he realises that Will has quoted back at him his reasons for wanting to get married.

"Are you sure about this?" Sonny asks. "I don't want to push you into anything—"

"You're not pushing me into anything," Will reassures him, "I swear."

"So... why now?"

"Because it's taken me this long to get it organised without you knowing," Will laughs. "And because I love you, I want to spend the rest of my life with you."

"You're sure?"

"Sure enough to fill a coffee house with our friends and family and dress up in my tux," Will says. "So... promise ceremony me?" he laughs.

"I have... nothing to wear!"

"There's a suit in your office. The nice one."

"You mean the one you like."

"Yeah, that one," Will smiles. "So is that a yes?"

"Yes," Sonny smiles, "it's a yes."

~~

Will makes him go in through the back so he can be surprised when he comes out and sees what Abi and Chad have done to the coffee house. For the rest of his life though, Sonny will say that he noticed none of it until the photos were printed up because all he could see was Will.

Abi starts off, claiming credit for introducing her two favourite cousins to each other, and then she gives up the floor for their vows.

"You changed my life, Sonny, you _defined_ it. You make me want to be a better man and you help me be a better father, a better partner. You are my heart, you are my soul, you are every single reason I have to make tomorrow better than today. I promise I will spend every day of my life loving you, and trying to show you just how much you mean to me."

"One of the things I love about you is how you keep surprising me. Life with you has certainly not been boring! And while there are downs to go with the ups, through it all you have been my constant. The world shifts around us but you? You're my solid ground. I have never known love like this, with you and Ari, and I know it'll only get better, stronger, deeper. So... bring it on!"

Abi makes some announcement but it's lost in cheers and claps and paper confetti that a part of Sonny's brain knows they'll be cleaning up for weeks. But Will's mouth is on his and his arms are strong around him while there's a tiny hand pulling at his trousers, and things have never been better.


End file.
